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Monthly Archives: July 2017

“They taste like doughnuts,” is the usual response heard for these old fashioned homemade rolls this PFO (Primary Farm Operator) makes so often. Another one; “They taste like the ones my grandmother used to make”, or even “Ohhhh, they remind me of the ones I used to eat in school!” Must have been when real food was cooked in school cafeterias.

These rolls go far back into family time on Father Harry’s side. BTW, ‘Father Harry’ is the loving title given by one of the sassy offspring that share the same last name. Anyway, these golden bits of yumminess come from Father Harry’s grandmother’s kitchen now only cobwebs of memories in one’s mind. Thank goodness for handwritten recipes, and mothers teaching their little girls homemade magic in their busy country kitchens.

The happy dough rises just as it should–quickly. Scales are used to insure every roll will be the same weight. This avoids fighting over the bigger ones, and helps keep Father Harry’s waist neat and trim!

Rising time is 25 minutes after forming rolls. Baking time is 22-25 minutes. From start to finish, this old fashioned, simple recipe takes about 1&1/2 hours to 2 hours. There is time during the risings to do other things as well, like shooing the chuckles out of the flower gardens, fresh water for dogs and cats, opening gates for the cattle, snipping fresh flowers for the table or just sitting on the cool porch with a cup of hot coffee.

Fresh from the oven.

May have to hide them to make it to supper time!

The recipe is not included. Please make a request for it, if desired, via this blog! FH (Father Harry) has given permission to share!

Homemade pie crust can be challenging to make, but not impossible. It is fun to try, try and try again over time to improve pie crust making skills and ‘wow’ the crowd with a beautiful pie. “Yummy!”, “Can we eat it NOW!”, “That pie looks beautiful!”, are responses sure to put a smile on any pie makers face.

This blog though is not about how to make wonderfully delicious pie crusts, it is about what to do with the left-over pie crust not used for the pie. For years this PFO had the temerity to throw-out the left over dough! How silly and wasteful. A generous friend shared how her grandmother used to use the left-over dough for a most delicious little pastry. Wow! The left-overs have not ever found themselves in the garbage again!

Spread jam over top of rolled out dough. Of course this PFO’s jam is home-made.

Roll out left-over dough on lightly floured counter as thin as can be done. Spread jam over the entire top of dough. For a different taste, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the top of rolled out dough. Dollop bits of butter over the jam (or cinnamon/sugar). Roll into a long “jelly roll”.

Place bits of butter all over spread out jam.

The rolled out ‘pastry’ looks similar to photo below. Place it on a folded in-half piece of aluminum foil, turn up edges so jam does not drip in oven. Bake in oven beside pie. It may need to come out before pie is finished, keep an eye on it.

The fun of this left-over pastry is not to fuss over it. It will be long gone before any critique be made.

This PFO has made it a lifelong practice to be careful in making promises. However, this left-over pastry is surely an exception. There will never be any left-overs of this ‘do not throw out pastry!’ pastry, and that is a promise!

Remember: this pastry is not for ‘looks’, it is for ‘not being wasteful’.

This old-timey, waste not recipe is not for ‘looks’. That is what the pie is for. This pastry is for those that do not like to waste food, and love to watch folks enjoy the products of smart thinking! Have fun and enjoy!

Cobwebs happily flutter in the gentle breeze in all the corners of the doors, stalls, and rafters; dust seriously collects in and on every available space; hay and straw are strewn all over the floor like children’s lego blocks; and surely not to forget all the poo deposited in the four corners of each stall. Why would anyone want to clean one of these messy, dusty ‘ole places?

Cobwebs hang and happily flutter in every corner!

Hay and straw cover the floor like children’s lego blocks.

Suppose it is confession time for this PFO. There is no time like time spent out in the barn. It does not favor any season of the year nor time of day. Anytime of the year is a wonderful time to be out in it, and every hour has it’s own specialness. The smells, temperatures, and critters all vary during a day. Several of the critters were put there by this PFO. Others appropriated it for themselves, seeing it very fit for raising and feeding their family. One must be very still and quiet to catch a glimpse of those that have adopted it as their home, for they keep to themselves, and come out only when all is either dark or quiet. As God would have it, they are a benefit to the ecosystem of the barn. The barn swallows eat pesky, biting flies, as do the spiders. The black snakes eat the mice. They also add to the overall mess! But it is nothing a hot cup of coffee and pre-breakfast homemade biscuit cannot handle.

A hot cup of coffee and buttered homemade biscuit can handle any mess in the barn.

Certain sounds and smells are unique only to barns, and a well-kept barn always has the sweet smell of fresh hay wafting in the air. Horses stamp their feet impatient for feed, cows moo softly as they saunter in, the chuckles are busy working in the manure piles (good Chuckles!), the baby birds are chirping high up in the rafters for more, more food from busy parents.

It is a dusty, dirty satisfying job. Being a good steward is important. Visitors to the farm go away with a good or bad idea of farming and how this farm is run. The goal is to send them off with a smile, knowing these animals (and farm) are well cared for.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sailaway from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain